Miranda Sanchez:Third Wheel
by sweetiepie1019
Summary: Oneshot. Miranda's thoughts after she finds out what's going on with Lizzie and Gordo after Rome. Please R&R.


Miranda Sanchez: Third Wheel

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Taptap. Taptaptap. Taptaptaptaptap. Taptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptap**taptaptaptaptaptapTAPTAPTAPTAPTAP**_**TAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAP ** "Miss!"

I turned to see the man next to me. He looked slightly irritated. "Can you please stop that?"

I flushed. "Oh, sorry, sorry, sorry!" I tucked my pen into the top of my ponytail. I sat there fidgeting for a little while. Suddenly, I whirled back to face him and burst forth, "But it's like you go away for a few months and everything's changed! It's not enough that I wasn't in the class picture, I wasn't at the graduation, and I missed going to Rome – I mean, I missed going to **Rome**! Rome is ... it's ... Rome! Not enough, apparently, because now my best friends are dating and I'm going to be the third wheel." I gave him a hard look and lowered my voice significantly. "Do you know how awkward it's going to be being a third wheel?"

He gave me a nasty look. "No," he snapped. "But I know what it's like to be hassled by one!" And with that, he jammed his headphones on and stared determinedly at the in-flight movie. I gaped at him, made an offended squeak, and turned to look out my airplane window.

My anger quickly faded, and my mind returned to my earlier worries. Gordo and Lizzie, a couple. I had seen it coming. I thought I was prepared. I had an irate man to my right who probably wouldn't agree.

I hadn't even talked to them. Or heard anything at all from Lizzie. I had gotten two e-mails from Gordo since he and Lizzie went to Rome. One described the entire Rome adventure (which I was still angry that I missed! Lizzie sang! In front of people!) Then, at the end, there were the lines that astonished and delighted me.

_... And she kissed me, Miranda. I said thank you. How stupid was that? But you always said to go for it. So even though I've made myself into such a huge idiot, even though I know though that kiss was probably just Lizzie's way of saying 'Thanks for helping me embarrass myself in front of an entire country', and even though I think there is no way she'd say yes, I'm going to do it. I'm asking out Lizzie McGuire._

_Wish me luck. And be kind to me if she turns me down._

I had been excited. Gordo and Lizzie were finally getting it together. Even if I was missing it ... well, frankly, it was probably a lot less awkward that way. That's what I thought then. I waited on pins and needles for two weeks, and got nothing. It drove me insane.

Then that second e-mail. How that had changed everything.

_Miranda. Lizzie doesn't want to talk to you right now. That's wrong. She's worried about things. How things will change. Between the three of us. Now that other things have changed. If it'll be weird for me and her, or you or what. Did I tell you she said yes yet? And now I really get what she's saying. It's too weird, trying to tell you this stuff and not be right in front of you. I guess I'm just going to have to wait until you get home. But anyway, I thought you should know. It's official. Lizzie and I are going out. That sounds weird even to me. I just ... I really can't wait until you come home. So we can work this out._

Have you ever felt your stomach drop out of your feet and still felt like you wanna throw up? Because believe me, if you ever get an e-mail like this from your BEST FRIEND? It can happen. Oh, trust me, it can happen.

There has never been anything that Gordo and I couldn't talk about. I mean, I knew he had a crush on Lizzie. I mean, sure, everyone knew that, but I knew like before. Like before he even knew himself, I knew. And we've been talking about it ever since he got his idiot butt on board. I remember the night where he just came up to our door, burst through it (my mom was a little cold to him for a while after that), and stormed into my room. "Miranda," he proclaimed solemnly in his squeaky eleven year old voice, "I have a crush on Lizzie." And I lovingly rolled my eyes and pronounced, "Duh!" So what was there Gordo and I couldn't talk about?

And if that was bad, it was nothing to how bad it was to not being able to talk about something with Lizzie. I knew things I never wanted to know about her, or anyone for that matter. I mean, finding out that someone can eat their own weight in beef jerky? It's just nasty! And I had to take care of her afterwards. It was not pretty. And of course, who was the one who she called (despite my raging 101 fever, thank you very much) to scream into my stuffy ear (because at that point, everything was stuffy), "GORDO LIKES ME! GORDO LIKE ME! I LIKE GORDO! I LIKE GORDO!" after Ethan Craft's Mystery Party, which I also didn't get to go to. Much like Rome. And to which (Lizzie's screaming, I mean) I of course drowsily replied, "Dub!"

Now, suddenly, there was this ... gap. I had always been the one who knew both sides of this little lovefest, the one who held her tongue so they could figure it out themselves, the one who made up lame excuses to leave them alone in a room together in the desperate hope they would finally get a clue. Suddenly, I was on the outside, and I had no idea what happened. I had become Miranda Sanchez: Third Wheel.

I had put off coming home; I was dreading it so much. I was two weeks later than I said I'd be, though Lizzie and Gordo had never been bothered enough to call and see what was going on. It was finally the fact that school was starting and I had no choice in the matter that sent me reluctantly home.

"Will you shut up!"

I turned back to the irritated, and fully irritable, man, my face painted with indignation. "What did I do now? I wasn't even talking!"

His eyes grew to slits. "You kept sighing. These real loud sighs."

"Sighing bothers you?" I asked incredulously. "Well how about breathing? Does my breathing bother you? Please, _sir_," I simpered, my voice dripping with sarcasm, "let me know if my mere attempts to keep myself alive bother you!"

He glared a death glare at me for a moment, then snorted a loud "Harrumph!" and thrust he headphones back on. I gave a little scream of frustration, but my angry words were lost as I felt the plane bump roughly to the ground. As people began to stand and stretch, I turned that anger to my other and much larger problem. They didn't want to call me? They didn't want to contact me? Well, fine then. Maybe I didn't want to talk to them! I wasn't going to be left out. Oh, no. It was going to be them who were left out. They should've thought of me. How this would affect me. They didn't. And now it was going to kick them in the...

I stopped short. My internal mutterings must have gone on longer than I thought, because I was in the airport. And standing directly in front of me were the two people that had been most on my mind for the past three months.

My mind raced. How did they know to come? I knew I hadn't told them, so who had? But it didn't matter, did it? No. Because I wasn't talking them. They had ignored me all summer. I stood up a little straighter and fixed a carefully indifferent look on my face, then began to stride towards them. Yeah! _I_ wasn't talking to _them_!

Then I saw the look on Gordo's face. I bit my lip. Dang. He looked so happy to see me. He had the characteristic Gordo grin that split his face in two. And there was Lizzie. She was bouncing on her toes, looking a little apprehensive, but so excited at the same time. Their hands were loosely clasped, but looked as if they were waiting for approval. My approval.

And as I looked in their faces, I knew I had to give it to them. Because they were nervous. They were starting this new relationship, and they were trying to make sure it didn't wreck their friendship, and they had needed time to adjust. But they needed me now. I was their best friend, their person to confide in. Things they still couldn't tell each other, things you just couldn't tell a boyfriend or girlfriend. They needed me.

Besides. They were my best friends. I needed them, too.

So I sucked up my pride, broke into a wide smile, and cried out, "Gordo! Lizzie! Oh my God!"

Lizzie squealed and started running towards me. She practically jumped me, crying, "Randa! Randa! I missed you so much!"

Gordo slowly trundled over. "Hey! How was Mexico?" He questioned as Lizzie let go of me, then enveloped me in a bear hug. When he let go of me, he grabbed onto Lizzie's hand, and suddenly they both looked to me in apprehension.

So I flashed a huge smile. Because the way they cared about what I thought made everything right. "Mexico? It was fantastic. How was Rome? Though I think I can answer that myself," I added slyly, looking at their interlocked fingers.

Lizzie's smile grew broader as her grip on Gordo's hand finally grew tighter, as if it had been itching to all along. "It was amazing," she gushed, her eyes sparkling. Gordo gave her a wink, and she blushed a little. Then he and I laughed at her together. And I really, truly knew everything was going to be fine.

"That's great." It had a double meaning. And I meant both of them.

I could finally tell. I wasn't Miranda Sanchez, third wheel. I was Miranda Sanchez. Best friend. I always would be.

AN: So what did you think? My first Lizzie McGuire fic. Please R&R!


End file.
